Things to share from my business journey

Who Owns Your Social Media Account?

When your staff members use social media such as Facebook or Twitter while they are employed by you, who actually owns the accounts, especially when they may be used to advertise or promote your business?

There is a lawsuit underway in the USA which might have an impact on the answer to that question.

In summary, an employee was posting to a Twitter account which became very popular and amassed 17,000 followers. The company name formed part of the employee’s username. When the employee left the company he was asked to continue to post the occasional tweet to these followers which he did but under a slightly different name, removing any reference to the company. After 8 months the company sued the former employee for $340,000 as they were of the opinion that the 17,000 followers were a customer list and ownership of the list belonged with them. In addition, the action by the company intended “to protect the customer lists and confidential information, intellectual property, trademark and brands.”

The implications of this lawsuit may be much wider as it will establish a precedent relating to the ownership of social media accounts.

Other issues that may need to be considered include:

Why was the account set up in the first place i.e. purely for social engagement or to actually attract new business.

How do you ascertain an actual value of the tweet or Facebook update?

Many companies encourage employees to use tweets or Facebook as a way to maintain contact with their supporters or fans so how do you value that?

If you have a staff member tweeting or posting on your behalf, you need to work out your ground rules early. A contract or agreement will give you some protection until the law is clear.